Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

What we love about the Olympics has actually little to do with sports and everything to do with those moments. The ones that make us cry; the one that make us scream; the ones that make us say to ourselves, “I can barely get up for a snack during the commercial, let alone train every day for 15 years straight.” How do these super-humans do it?

Here are 10 golden moments from the summer games that still make me choke up:

10. Munich, 1972: Swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals
The tragic loss of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich cast a dark pall over these games. Thankfully, Spitz was on hand to raise the spirits of Americans back home who watched the 22-year-old butterfly and freestyle his way to seven gold medals — a feat still unequaled by any other athlete in a single Olympiad. Swimming has never been as thrilling since.Clip

9. Los Angeles, 1984: Carl Lewis makes history with four gold medals in track and field
Already a global celebrity, Lewis cemented the U.S.’s stake in track and field at these games. He began his gold-medal run by easily beating Jesse Owens’ record in the 100 M and ended the games with a fourth gold with the relay team. For the first time since Owens first graced the field at the 1936 games in Berlin, Americans saw running as an art form.Clip

8. Seoul, 1988: Sprinter Ben Johnson is stripped of his gold medal for using steroids
This was really hard to watch. On Sept. 24, the Canadian beat Carl Lewis in the 100 M final to win gold — even declaring later that he would have been even faster had he not raised his hand in the air before the race’s end. Unfortunately, it was the traces of the steroid Stanozolol found in his system that was his downfall. He was disqualified for doping, losing the Olympic title and, even worse, the respect of millions who watched happen. Ouch.Clip

7. Barcelona, 1992: The Dream Team dominates, well, everybody
If “Fantasy Basketball” had existed in the early 1990s, this would have been the team. The Dream Team existed in a purer time in American sports, when athletes were still heroes and we still gave a hoot about professional basketball players.Clip

6. and 5. Montreal, 1976 and Los Angeles, 1984: Nadia Comaneci’s recording-breaking perfect 10; Mary Lou Retton becomes the first non-European gymnast to win the all-around title
At 14, Romanian prodigy Comaneci scored the first-ever 10.0 score on the uneven bars. Citing Comaneci as her inspiration, Retton was just 16 when she won the world over with her sweet smile and scored perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault to win the all-around title. Suddenly, a guy with a thick mustache named Bela Karoli became the most famous coach since Lombardi.Nadia ClipRetton Clip

4. Seoul, 1988: Greg Louganis smashes his head on the diving board but rebounds to win gold
Louganis had been a favorite for two golds at the 1980 games in Moscow, but an American boycott stopped him from competing. Finally a contender in 1988, he suffered a terrible blow to the head while performing a reverse 2 1/2 pike in the prelims. Despite a concussion, he went on to ace the dive in the finals, winning the gold and the admiration of an awed global audience.Clip

3. Atlanta, 1996: Michael Johnson shatters his own world record in the 200 M
It was the smile seen ’round the world when Johnson realized he’d just run the fastest 300 M of all time. Seems the nickname “The Man With the Golden Shoes” (for his flashy custom Nike racing spikes) was a prescient prediction of his Olympic destiny, too.Clip

2. Los Angeles, 1984: Mary Decker (Slaney) is trampled by Zola Budd in the 3000 M
The gold medal-favorite Decker collided with South-African-born Budd at the 1700 mark, and Decker’s slight body was thrown to the ground, her hip injured beyond repair. I don’t think there was a sadder Olympic moment than the sight of her future husband, Richard Slaney, carrying a sobbing Decker from the track.Clip

1. Atlanta, 1996: Kerri Strug lands a perfect vault on an injured ankle and makes us weep like babies
If you didn’t get at least a little choked up seeing this, you officially have no heart. Shaking out her already injured ankle, her sweet face contorted in pain, Strug limped to the end of the runway and nailed her second vault — then collapsed in agony to the mat. Carried off the mat by coach Karoli, Strug was officially her generation’s Olympic hero and star of the most winning moment ever broadcast during the summer games.Clip

India clinched its first ever individual Olympic gold medal in 108 years when Abhinav Bindra won the 10 meter air rifle event in one of the most pulsating shooting finals in the history of the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.

The historic victory for the 25-year-old pro from Chandigarh came against heavy odds as he entered the event ranked number 17 in the world and pitted against Athens Olympic champion Zhu Qinan of China and Henri Hakkinen of Finland rated much higher than him.

But Bindra proved that reputation and history counted little as he overcame a two-point deficit against Zhu and Haikkinen after the qualifying round and annexed the title.

Bindra emerged triumphant in the 10-shot final with a finish of 104.5, taking his tally of points to 700.5 as against Zhu’s silver winning performance of 699.7 (597+102.7) and 699.4 (598+101.4) by Hakkinen, which gave the Finn Army marksman the bronze.

His first shot of the final a 10.7 saw him move to the third place and by the time he was preparing to shoot his fourth, the Indian had risen to the second spot.

A 10.6 on his seventh attempt earned Bindra the lead and in the deciding shot he got 10.8, way ahead of 10.5 by the Chinese and 9.7 by the Finn to bring India the first ever gold medal by an individual since the country first participated in Olympics in 1900.

The businessman from Chandigarh also ended India’s wait for a gold since the hockey team fetched a yellow metal in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

“It can’t better than this. Can it?” an elated but composed Bindra said soon after achieving the feat.

As Bindra bowed his head to receive the gold medal from the Princess of Lichtenstein, a small country in central Europe, and the Indian national anthem was played out for the first time in this edition of Olympics, the shooter had his feet firmly on the ground, betraying little emotions.

“For me, life will go on as usual but I sincerely hope Olympic sports get a leg-up. It’s not a priority back home and I hope more focus is paid to these events like shooting,” he said.

Asked about his scorching run in the finals, Abhinav said it was a conscious plan to pull out all stops and it paid off.

“I entered the final as fourth, which means I had to go all out for it. That’s why I was so aggressive and it paid off in the end. I guess it was my day,” he said.

Bindra, whose career at one stage was jeopardised by a nagging back injury, said it was not easy to keep himself keyed up all along.

“I worked hard, left home and trained in Germany. It only proves that if you keep working hard, you would have your day someday and fortunately, it was my day today.

“My parents, family and coaches stood by me all along and I owe it to them,” he said.

Even in his hour of supreme glory, Bindra was magnanimous towards his rival when he applauded Zhu for his performance and said “he should be happy that he won a medal”.

Bindra’s compatriot Gagan Narang too almost made it to the final but was ruled out on countback. Gagan scored 595, levelled at the fifth place but lost out on a final place in countback.

Beijing, Aug 11: Even the ever-calm Abhinav Bindra couldn’t control his emotions at the press conference following his gold winning exploits at Beijing. “I can’t describe how happy I am,” he said. Bindra pipped the likes of reigning Olympic champion Qinan Zhu to grab the gold medal in the 10m air rifle event to win first ever individual gold medal for India.

“It’s the thrill of my life. That’s about it. It’s hard to describe. I just went for it. I knew I was lying in fourth. Thankfully it went my way and I just went for it.”

Bindra, who faced criticism for failing to deliver on the great promise he showed as a child, said he was not thinking about making history in India with a first individual gold medal. In fact, he said, he was “not thinking about anything”.

“I was just trying to concentrate on shooting,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking of making history. I was two points behind the leaders. I was just trying to shoot good shots. I wanted to shoot well and shoot aggressively. And that’s what I did.”

His 10.8 of a possible 10.9 on his final shot sparked loud celebrations from group of fans from India.

‘It couldn’t have got better’

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and a former shooter himself, was present at the range. He admitted being stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax.

“I haven’t prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn’t have got better,” he told Indian television.

National Shooting coach Sunny Thomas said, “We are really proud of his achievement.”

He also reinforced his confidence in the boys adding, “This is just the beginning.”

On his gold winning pupil he said that Bindra was a very calm and composed person and his focus also rubbed on the other players in the Indian contingent. His views were echoed by Abhinav’s father who also added that God had rewarded his son’s efforts from the past 12 years.

President Patil congratulates Abhinav Bindra

President Pratibha Patil Monday congratulated Abhinav Bindra who made history when he won a gold medal for the 10-metre air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics – India’s first individual gold medal in the Olympics.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sports Minister MS Gill also sent their messages. Gill lauded Bindra’s achievement, calling him pride of the nation.

“Finally, we got an individual gold last time we saw gold was when the Indian hockey team won it in 1980. Youth in the country got a new icon in him and hope they are drawn more into Olympic sports”. Kalmadi said. “Cricket rules the roost in India but now the youngsters have a role model who plays some other sport. It augurs well for us,” he said.

“It was a proud moment for all of us here and back home. To see the Indian flag being raised and the national anthem being played made us feel proud of our country.

It’s an unforgettable moment,” he added.

This is a step forward and I hope we would have more athletes who would emulate Bindra,” Kalmadi added.

Windfall awaits Bindra

The BCCI also extended their congratulations to him while announcing a cash award of Rs. 2.5 million to the Beijing Olympic gold medallist.

“Hearty congratulations to Abhinav Bindra for winning India’s first-ever individual gold medal at the Olympics. He has done the country proud. His achievement heralds a new era for Indian sport,” BCCI President Sharad Pawar said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a further windfall awaits Bindra on his homecoming. The Punjab government has pledged a sum of Rs 1 cr for Bindra, while the Chattisgarh and the Maharashtra government have set aside a sum of Rs 1 lakh and 10 lakhs respectively. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav will present Bindra with a railway golden pass.

The Bihar government has also declared a prize of Rs 11 lakhs for Bindra.

Series Sri Lanka won the 3-match series 2-1Test debutKTGD Prasad (Sri Lanka)Player of the match KC Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)Player of the series BAW Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Drip by drip, Sri Lanka made their way to a comprehensive series win, their first over India since 2001. On what turned out to be the final day of the series, Sri Lanka did not attack overtly, and kept their composure at crucial junctures – when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman had a long partnership, and also when India struck with two early wickets, after Sri Lanka came out in pursuit of 122.

A bowler short, a batsman limping, the No. 11 in no shape to bat, and only 14 runs ahead with half the team gone, India started the day as no-hopers, but they managed to give Sri Lanka a few nervous moments. Dravid and Laxman – who was nursing an ankle injury – provided resistance for about 90 minutes. Harbhajan Singh played a cameo to take the lead beyond 100, and then took a wicket in his first over.

Sri Lanka seemed in no hurry. They waited patiently, bowled in the right areas, and got the last five Indian wickets without much damage. It was Ajantha Mendis who broke the resistance, dismissing Dravid half an hour before lunch. And when Harbhajan, who hit five boundaries in his 26, looked to take India towards a sizeable lead, Chaminda Vaas, that epitome of discipline, struck in the first over he bowled after his three with the first new-ball.

When India struck early, reducing them to 22 for 2, Sri Lanka didn’t look to hit out, and waited instead for Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan to tire. Harbhajan, who opened the bowling in Ishant Sharma’s absence, bowled Michael Vandort with an arm-ball; and Zaheer Khan got Kumar Sangakkara soon after on the check-drive. Malinda Warnapura and Mahela Jayawardene weathered the storm, survived lbw shouts, and were content to add only 23 in 10.3 overs before tea.

The two went on to frustrate the Indian bowlers after tea, too. They never looked harried, kept rotating the strike, and by the time the Indians had frustrated themselves into exhausting their reviews, started to have some fun with sweeps – both orthodox and reverse. The only contest in the end was whether Jayawardene would get to a half-century as Warnapura had done earlier. Jayawardene was 46 and Sri Lanka three short of the win when he square-cut Sourav Ganguly for a four to end the match.

That India had a semblance of a chance when they began bowling was thanks to the partnership between Laxman and Dravid. Coming out of bad patches, they took the first steps towards what briefly seemed to be an incredible comeback, before they were stopped. Nonetheless it was the best partnership between two of the Fab Four in this series. The two looked comfortable reading the spinners, nudging and flicking for singles at ease, and capitalising on the fields set by rotating the strike. Laxman, who had Gautam Gambhir running for him, was visibly in pain, limping away to square leg when he got singles.

Dravid and Laxman lasted as long as they did thanks in no small measure to Sri Lanka’s strategy: for much of the time, they didn’t employ conspicuously attacking fields, and gave away singles for free as they tried to prevent boundaries. As a result, despite the time consumed, India’s lead never reached threatening proportions.

The day started with Dravid closing in on his first half-century of the series, which he brought up with a punched boundary off Mendis. He then settled down again, looking determined as he played the most confident innings by an Indian middle-order batsman in the series. Laxman at the other end received plenty of favours from Sri Lanka. When he was on 35, he edged Muttiah Muralitharan, but there was no slip. The field at that time had no slip and no silly point, and had a short mid-on, a short midwicket, a short square leg, and a backward square leg. In Murali’s next over, Laxman was dropped by Thilan Samaraweera at short mid-on. After he got to his second half-century of the series, he was dropped by Malinda Warnapura at forward short leg.

In between those drops and missed chances, he hit Dammika Prasad for two delightful boundaries, but those were about the only quick runs India got from Sri Lanka, who stuck to their plan of not letting India run away with the game, testing their patience and resolve, knowing the wicket-taking delivery would come.

Come it did, courtesy Mendis, who, bowling from round the stumps, drew Dravid forward and got the ball to move enough to take the edge. Then Murali, who had started from over the stumps, came back round, and got Kumble lbw with an accurate offbreak. Mendis ended with 26 wickets, the best for a debutant in a three-match series, and Murali with 21.

Sri Lanka have now won 13 of their last 16 series at home, and have not lost to India at home since 1993. The way Mendis and Murali bowled through the series bodes well for the continuation of Sri Lanka’s near-invincibility at home. It could signal the beginning of the end for the most feared middle order in world cricket.

He dazzled the world with his amazing talent, he gave cricket another name, he made cricket popular with his personal looks and talent, he is and always will be remembered by cricket fans worldwide. Imran khan, an unbelievably talented all rounder who’s name has been mentioned several times in Guinness World Record as one of the best all rounders (person who can bat as well as ball) in the history of cricket and has reached the top like no one else.
He was born in Lahore, Pakistan into a family of six. He entered the world on November 25,1952, the only boy and seventh member of his family. Hisparents gave him the name Imran Khan Niazi and truly loved him since he is the only boy in their family.
Imran was part of a well-educated family. His parents believed that their children should get the best of education, and become something. Imran’s parents have believed this and followed through with it, and that is why Imran’s sisters are so successful today.

His older sister Robina is an alumnus of the LSE and has a senior position in the United Nations in New York; his other sister Aleema has a master’s degree in business administration and runs a successful business; Uzma is a highly qualified surgeon is working in a Lahore hospital; while his other sister Rani is a University graduate who coordinates charity work. When it was time for Imran to go attend a college, he went to the prestigious public school in Lahore, the Aitchison College. There he was by far the best player on his team, being a very fine batsmen. He was still though quite far from becoming the best in the world. As Imran grew older, his interests went from being a batsmen to being a fast bowler.

When sixteen, Imran made his debut for Lahore. Imran’s cousins Javed Burki, and Majid Khan were a great part of cricket therefore when he made his test debut people thought that he made it because his family was on the Pakistan’s Cricket Team. (Nepotism)Later, Imran had to put cricket to the side and focus more on his studies.
Undoubtedly he was back again at the age of eighteen. He played admirably which resulted in him moving to England as he was chosen to play for a private school there.As the year 1971 approached, he made his test debut while visiting England.During this tour, he was fined many times by the management because he was looked upon by his peers as being a very snobby and wild player. Also on this tour, Imran did not play as well. Because of his “not so good” bowling, Pakistan was coasted to settle for a draw. This was the only test match on the tour.

When Imran was twenty-one, he was admitted in the Oxford University. For three years he studied economics and politics. In 1974 Pakistan toured England and therefore he was selected because of his form for Oxford University and his experience with speaking English. He had not succeeded to make a big mark because all three of his tests were drawn.

In 1976 Imran returned to Pakistan after being away for four years. During the 1976-77 season, Imran got a place in the Pakistan cricket team. He had impressed the team with his fantastic bowling. Later he moved to play with Sussex. The biggest reason for Imran to do this was because of his love affairs with the nightlife of London. He was quite angry at Worcester (a team he played for before he played for Sussex), because of the racism he found there. During the time he had been playing for other teams, Imran had become quite a big star.Everyone was able to see that this guy had talent and played very well. At this point, not only was he playing well, but had basically become a superstar. Imran continued to play for Sussex, because he enjoyed it there. At this point he had become the “father” of the reverse swing. His most famous partner was Sarfaraz Nawaz, in which the partners could make a lot of runs. Soon after, under the orders of the top official, Imran came back to Pakistan to play test cricket for the series against India. During this match, Imran hit two sixes and a four with only seven balls remaining. Because of Imran’s huge success, one could easily say that Imran was one of the most adored cricketer through the land at this point.

During the early 80’s Imran was not only at his cricketing peak, but had quite a few relations with women. He had a relationship with Susannah Costantine, ex-model Marie Helving, and artist Emma Sargeant. Some of his relations ended simply because of difference in culture and because of the busy and traveling life of Imran. He brought some of his relationships back home to Pakistan in which he was frowned upon because he was an individual of Muslim faith.

When Imran was thirty, he became the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. He lead them to a victory against England in their second test match.

During the years of his captaincy, Imran had broken his shin. Even though this was so, Imran continued to bowl, whether there was pain or not. Because of his injury, Imran was able to put bowling to the side and concentrate more on his batting. Imran improved his batting greatly which led him to his first century
in a one day match.
In 1987, Imran decided to retire from cricket. Javed Miandad took his place. Because Pakistan’s best captain was gone; the team was in somewhat of crisis .President of Pakistan Zia ul Haq asked him Personally to come back, therefore he was back as a captain in 1988. In later interviews he mentioned that personally his passion for the game was no more in 1987, he was already recognized around the globe.

1992 was the year of the World Cup Cricket competition, the most prestigious cricket event, Pakistan’s start was not good and lost couple of games and was looking to be kicked out in early stages he later told that during that time the manager of cricket team came to him and asked him that should I buy the tickets to go back home imran replied angrily that don’t come to me again and remember you are not out until you are really out. The Tiger was absolutely correct ,he gathered his team gave them a lecture inspired the spirits of the young team with his charisma, and the team replied with going into final. In the final at the age of 39, Imran showed no signs of his age scoring highest runs for his team. And then with his prolific captaincy he smacked the opponents, took the last wicket for his team and made history by winning the First and sole World Cup for his motherland.

He ended his career with an outstanding score of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in only test matches. During his career, Imran had turned the Pakistan cricket stars into the stars they are today. The day that Imran retired was a very big day. So big that the President of that time, Zia personally tried to stop him from retiring. Imran said that he wanted to retire at the highest point of his popularity so that people would be able to remember him forever.4 He wanted his name to be in all hearts and be recognized for all his accomplishments. Imran had officially ended his career as a cricketer and is truly remembered by all.

When Imran won the world cup, he had raised twenty fivemillion dollars to build a cancer hospital in memory of his mother. About ten years ago when Imran’s mother had cancer; Imran was desperately looking for some place to take her, but none of the hospital’s in Pakistan had the right facilities to treat her. When Imran took her to an outside country, it was too late; she had lost her battle against cancer. Eversince then, Imran has wanted to build a cancer hospital. Today he has a internationally recognized hospital standing in Lahore, Pakistan. It is named after his mother Shawkat Khanam. It is the only hospital of Pakistan that does not charge anything to patients who cannot afford the treatment and most of its patients are children. It is completely dependent on donations and needs at least 400 Million Pak Rupees to run. Although it is difficult to raise but he is carrying on some how.

In 1995, Imran decided to settle down and marry. He married Jemima Goldsmith who is the daughter of a billionaire. She was Jewish and converted to Islam by choice just before the two got married. Their wedding took place in Paris. When they came back to London, they threw a party which was more for the public.
On November 18th 1996, Imran and Jemima were the proud parent’s of a baby boy. The named him Suleiman Isa. On April 10th, 1999 Jemima gave birth to yet another baby boy. They have named him Kassim. Today, Imran has entered the world of politics and has set up his own party Tehreek-a-Insaf (Campaign for Justice). The party is struggling and in the two elections it participated in, it could get none seat in the first and won a single seat in the next election that seat was of Imran himself. So he himself has become Member National Assembly He continues to fundraise for his hospital. He does this by taking tours with popular stars. Some stars donate their money to Imran’s hospital.

Imran was a born leader and his captaincy led his beloved Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup finals where they took on and beat a pretty good England side.

Imran was a great all rounder, with his in swinging fast bowling and measured attacking batting displays he dragged his talented side to a great success down under in a magical World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand. His greatest success was that night in Melbourne with a 22 run victory of England.

“He is talented, very talented, but has no brains,” was Geoff Boycott’s on-air verdict after Virender Sehwag’s attempt to hook a ball from outside off stump found the fielder at deep square leg and triggered a first-innings collapse at the SSC.

Sehwag’s response to a question regarding his approach after his maverick innings – a 15th Test century at a strike-rate of 104.91 – was deadpan. “How can I stop the way I’ve played?” he said. “Yes, there is pressure if wickets fall and you think ‘What if I go for a shot and get out too?’ But if that happens you’re never going to score runs.”

After two batting collapses in the first Test it was imperative that India got a solid start. Sehwag provided that by using a simple mantra: if the ball is there to be hit, hit it. Circumstances rarely affect Sehwag and he put the pedal to the metal. A whip off the pads past midwicket got him started, a wild sweep that was unsuccessfully referred didn’t stall him, and when he charged Ajantha Mendis and swung him over cow corner for six, Sehwag was at full throttle.

The stand-out feature was the effortless manner in which Sehwag handled Mendis, who was virtually unplayable in Colombo. The key, in his own simple words, was that here Sehwag “picked him [Mendis] off the track, from where the ball pitched”, something only he and and Sachin Tendulkar have managed to do in this series.

When Mendis tossed the ball up on middle and off, Sehwag smothered the spin, and when the bowler drifted on to middle, he went back and turned it fine. If it spun in sharply, Sehwag adjusted his back leg and brought his bat down quickly to kill the ball. Sehwag also picked the two-fingered googly and moved back to cut or punch through the off-side. He failed to beat cover with the drive once but replayed the shot two balls later with more power and placed it to perfection. Mendis’ first four overs cost 29.

Sehwag accelerated and yet remained in control with Gautam Gambhir, fleet-footed against spin, in the passenger seat. There were cracks at one end of the pitch and Nuwan Kulasekera asked a few questions but Sehwag steered clear of them. He cut Muttiah Muralitharan’s first ball, a doosra from around the stumps, to reach his half-century off 50 balls. His strike rate, like a speedometer, fluctuated from 60 to 98 and beyond. India’s 100 came from 115 balls and Sehwag’s contribution was 59.

Like Sri Lanka did at the SSC, he and Gambhir ran hard, hustling for the second, and constantly looking for scoring opportunities. Sehwag and Aakash Chopra, another Delhi team-mate, did this effectively during the majority of their 19 partnerships, notably in Australia in 2003-04. Some of today’s singles were risky but the intent was obvious and it frustrated Sri Lanka.

In the over before lunch, Sehwag put his arm around Gambhir’s shoulder and had a word. Gambhir reached his fifty off the next ball and a beaming Sehwag rushed to congratulate him. When Sehwag dabbed a single behind point to raise the 150 partnership, he punched gloves with Gambhir as they crossed. How many batsmen can power a side to 150 for 0 at lunch? The camaraderie was plain to see.

After a four-hour rain delay, Mendis tested Gambhir with his variation but at the other end Sehwag disdainfully smashed Vaas over cow corner off his second ball after the resumption. Two balls later he played a booming straight drive to reach his century, which he celebrated with a proud wave of the bat to the dressing room and an embrace from his partner. His 15th hundred took only 87 balls with 15 fours and two sixes but the message was deeper.

At the MCG, in 2003-04, India were 311 for 3 but collapsed for 366 after Sehwag was dismissed for 195 at the end of the first day. In Adelaide earlier this year Sehwag scored 151 out of India’s 269 in the second innings. Today, Sehwag had driven India to a position of strength at 167 for 0 before four wickets fell in 20 balls for 11 runs. As he had done against England in Galle during the winter, Chaminda Vaas, rejuvenated after the rain delay, struck twice in an over. Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were dismissed with the score on 178 and the morning’s work had come undone.

“I didn’t notice any change in my batting after the four-hour break in play,” Sehwag said. “Every batsman has his own mindset with which he plays, but I just played my shots.” Even as stumps approached, Sehwag relied on his base instinct. Mendis went around the stumps and Sehwag used his feet to smash him down the ground and hit two consecutive fours through cover.

Sehwag had fulfilled his responsibility of providing a sound start but the collapse meant that he had to hold the innings together. His unshakeable approach did not change. “I am not satisfied because there’s plenty left in this game,” was Sehwag’s closing statement. “If I can convert this into a double-century or more tomorrow, get India above 400-500, apply pressure on Sri Lanka, then I will be satisfied.”

Crushed in Colombo, India arrived in Galle needing to find a way to bounce back. Only a vivid imagination could have conceived of a fightback without it being led by Sehwag. Like the white breakers of the Indian Ocean, lashing across the rocks in the background of the Galle International Stadium, Sehwag has injected life into a one-sided series.